In poker, the aim is to have the best hand. This is achieved by betting until all the other players have been eliminated. If the game ends in a draw, the pot is split evenly among the players. In some cases, the objective of the game is to win the pot. This can be accomplished in several ways.
During betting phases, players can choose to fold or remain in the game. If they don’t want to reveal their hand, they can collect all the chips in the pot. This is called the showdown. In this phase, the player with the best hand wins the pot. If there are more players, there is a side pot. The side pot consists of additional bets by players after the initial betting round.
In a typical game, the winner of the pot is the player with the best five-card hand. The lowest-card hand is called the low-hand. In a low-ball game, players must have five-card hands that are lower than eight. In this case, the best hand is one that contains the lowest five cards, called a pair.
The stakes in a game of poker can be doubled or halved. This is permitted by the house rules for a limited number of raises. Typically, stakes start to grow after three or four raises. However, doubling the stakes after this point can force players to quit the game due to lack of money.